Forsaken (Syoc Closed)
by Kingdom-Of-Madness
Summary: Ever wondered what happened to the children WICKED rejected when picking subjects for the maze trials? What happens when WICKED mistakenly sells them off to a group of sadistic scientist who only see them as lab rats? 10 years of being tortured and kept in captivity changes a person even a child. Will they let themselves be treated like animals or will they fight for their freedom?
1. Prologue, Form & Rules

_AN- Okay here we go! This is my new Syoc "Forsaken" if you recognize me from my last Syoc "The Failed Experiment" and are wondering why I'm making a new story when I didn't continue my first I have written an Author's Note in my last story explaining everything. I really hope this story works out and everyone likes the idea. I will leave this Syoc open until I have enough submissions so a week tops but I want to start as soon as possible. I can't wait to see all your amazing characters, bye for now!_

* * *

The soft clicking of heels against tile echoed off the gleaming metal walls of the corridor like the steady ticking of a clock. The distant hum of machinery almost completely muffled the sound of a whispered conversation going on at the far end of the hall.

Adjusting the papers that were tucked neatly under her arm, a middle-aged woman dressed all in white strode down the twisting turning hallways with her eyes dead set on a pair of steel doors she was advancing upon. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun and the long lab coat she wore fluttered behind her gently, barely skimming the floor. Her facial expression was unreadable as she reached out and pushed open the steel doors to be greeted by the sight of a small group of scientist surrounding a circular table that was projecting a page full of data into the air that they were all currently reading.

Upon hearing the door open a tall male scientist with dark brown hair that was beginning to gray and a chin dusted with stubble turned his attention away from the screen with a mildly surprised look on his face.

"Mrs. Paige, we weren't expecting you for another couple of hours."

He didn't sound too happy to have his superior walk in on their conversation without any notice.

"That was the original plan, yes, but I came to the decision that it would be more prudent if we started on the plan right away. Wouldn't you think so Mr. Crane?"

Paige asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Before the disgruntled man could reply a younger scientist came running around the table, his arms loaded with dozens of crumpled papers that were spilling out onto the ground.

"Chancellor Paige, they've just begun the construction of the Mazes and I just finished up perfecting the Swipes this morning. It's so great! We've finally put a plan in motion to secure the future of mankind!"

Paige offered a small smile to the beaming young man when she saw excitement sparkling in his green eyes. He was no older than 26 and might just be the youngest scientist they have ever let work in W.I.C.K.E.D's organization. Yet it was at these times she saw his inner child express itself.

Crane gave the younger man an annoyed look before sharply cuffing him over the head.

"James, don't you have anything better to do than interrupt us? Like finishing up those data sheets I gave you?"

The growl in the older man's voice gave away just how much he was getting aggravated.

Paling slightly the young scientist gave a swift nod before scrambling back to his workstation, snatching up the papers he had dropped onto the floor as he went.

Halfheartedly Crane led the Chancellor over to where he had been previously standing in front of the projection screen that was displaying the layout of the advanced and highly detailed blueprints of a large Maze. There were countless twist and turns, dozens of dead ends, paths that led to drops and one big square expanse of space in the center where the "participants" would arrive and eventually call their home.

"As I was going to explain before we were rudely interrupted."

Crane cast a scathing look at James.

"We have completed the blueprints for both the Mazes and have chosen suitable locations for them. The construction has indeed begun and we are now starting on the….eh….'Guards' you wanted to roam the passageways. Also, I have gotten Marshall to begin the training program you wanted to be set up."

"Very good, and what of Sargent-Colburn? Has he and his men left to pick up the required subjects yet?"

Crane glanced at Paige from the corner of his eye.

"Yes, he left at dawn. He's been instructed to be back within 3 weeks time."

Nodding in approval, the Chancellor began to copy down the data that was being displayed into the air down onto one of the blank sheets of paper she had brought with her. She was indeed pleased to hear that their subjects would be arriving sooner than she had hoped. However, she couldn't help but feel a slight flutter of apprehension in her chest when she thought of the fact that someone like Colburn was put in charge of collecting them. He wasn't exactly the kindest of souls and he was well known for having little to no patience when it came to dealing with difficult situations, especially when things didn't go his way. He was one of those people who preferred taking his anger out on others rather than solve rising issues humanely. She could only pray there would be no unnecessary blood spilled while the Sargent got the job done and just maybe he would bring the subjects back in one piece.

While finishing up a row of text and starting on a new one Paige peered over her spectacles to see Crane watching her from across the table looking trouble. He obviously had something on his mind.

"Yes? What is it, Morgan?"

The older scientist frowned at the use of his first name but seemed to shake off his displeasure easily enough.

"I know you have your reasonings for your choices on this matter and I would never usually question them but I must ask….why children Ava?"

A small smile played across the blonde's face at the inquiry, for she knew how odd it must seem to the other scientists that she had chosen mere toddlers to train and carry out their plans for the future. It would take years before they were ready and she knew how precious their time was since the future of mankind seemed to be resting on a paper thin sheet of glass with a giant hammer waiting to come crashing down and shatter it. Since the Sun Flares, everything had gone wrong. Half the earth was in ruins, almost all the world's leading organizations had been destroyed and 87% of human life was extinguished in the blink of an eye. So much had been lost and with the discovery of the disease they call the Flare, it seemed the world was counting down it's final days to complete destruction. These kids were their last hope. If this plan failed it would all be over and all their hard work would have amount to nothing. The Maze would be the beginning, it would weed out the weak ones they had missed and leave them with the strong. The strong ones would then take up the cause and hopefully in time lead the world back to it's glory days. Their memories would have to go. If they remembered everything they had lost it might weaken their desire for freedom and leave them with nothing left to live for. How can you expect someone to fight when they having nothing left to fight for.

No.

They will have to forget. For the good of mankind. They must.

Shaking the troubling thoughts from her head Ava turned to Crane with an almost sad smile.

"Because, Mr. Crane, the younger the mind the easier it is to manipulate to our benefit."

* * *

 **\- Three Weeks Later -**

* * *

He was late.

He was fucking late!

Crane paced the docking bay back and forth furiously, leaving black streak marks from his shoes as he went. His face was beet red with rage and he muttered poisonous words under his breath while James watched him nervously. The younger scientist was smart enough to keep a good 7 meters away from the fury filled man while they waited for the Bergs carrying the children to arrive.

Yanking his coat sleeve back Crane snorted in disgust as he saw it was already 8:45 pm.

"Why the hell isn't Colburn here yet!? He was supposed to arrive with the subjects nearly 4 hours ago! Does he think we have time to just sit around idly and wait for him and his pathetic excuse for soldiers to show up whenever they damn feel like it!? We have work we could be doing right now, but no! He's making us waste our time just standing here like idiots!"

James took another step back, breathing out a nervous laugh.

"Perhaps he ran into trouble on the way here."

He suggested timidly.

Crane swung his head around to glare at the brunette, eyes full of scorn.

"Yeah, 30 men all heavily armed with guns, grenades and launchers and 3 fully equipped Bergs ran into trouble and weren't able to handle it."

Crane spat, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

James flinched at the sharp tone and opted to just keeping his opinions to himself while Crane went back to pacing and muttering.

"Half-assed job of commanding his men…...half-assed job of collecting subjects…..half-ass

Crane's last curse was drowned out by a loud humming noise that filled the air. The two men turned just in time to see the docking bay doors slowly slide open and three huge gray Burgs smoothly glided in. Each had the word W.I.C.K.E.D painted across the sides in bold black letters.

As the metal ships begun to carefully land in their assigned spots Crane marched up to the first one just as the gleaming silver door slid open and a tall, muscular man with short reddish blonde hair descended the ramp with a launcher swung over his shoulder.

"Colburn! Where the hell have you been!? We've been waiting here for the best of 4 hours! We can't…!"

The older scientist was abruptly cut off as the Sargent grabbed him by the shoulder and roughly pushed him aside.

"Get out of the way old man. I didn't work my ass off for the last few weeks collecting half dead toddlers just to have your corpse breathe singe my nose hairs."

Crane looked so offended at the insult that he just stood there opening and closing his mouth like a stunned fish while James stared at Colburn in dismay.

He had never met the Sargent before but he had heard many stories about how cold, uncaring and disrespectful he could be. Yet he never expected him to be so bold and careless with his words, especially toward someone like Crane who was respected by his colleagues even with his stern personality.

As Colburn took out a cigarette from his breast pocket and lit it with a match he had been keeping behind his ear the shock faded from Cranes face and was replaced with a look of pure fury.

"How dare you speak to me like that! You keep us waiting for nearly 4 hours when you were supposed to be here with the subjects at precisely 5 pm as you were instructed by Chancellor Paige three weeks ago! Then you have the audacity to insult me after you rudely interrupt me the moment you finally decide to show up!? You need to learn some respect if you're gonna be working with this organization or you're not going to last long here! Do you understand me!?"

As Crane stood there panting from his little rant Colburn looked him over lazily while taking a long drag from his cigar exhaling the smoke slowly between his lips before smirking at the enraged scientist.

"Cool it ya old geezer I did my job now you and your lot of nerds can do whatever it is you do while I and my men get the rest we deserve."

Before Crane could respond Colburn motion to a group of armored man standing nearby.

"Hey you lazy buggers, hurry up and get those little monsters off my Berg before they stink it up!"

The soldiers quickly took heed of their leader's orders and rushed up the ramps of the airships, disappearing from view for a few moments. When they returned James watched wide-eyed as they led a group of at least 63 dirty faced, half-starved children from the cargo hold. They stumbled along shivering as they gazed around the large room, their eyes were bloodshot from crying and their clothing has all torn and filthy. They all looked to be between the ages of 5-9, just as Paige had requested of Colburn. All of them seemed to be in relatively good shape considering the conditions they had been in, the worst James could see was that some had some nasty scrapes and bruises but they would easily heal in time.

Crane watched through narrowed eyes as the other two Bergs were unloaded of their burdens and 97 more children joined the first 63 giving them roughly 160 kids to work with. Crane had to admit Colburn did rather well in his mission of collecting the required subjects despite having only three weeks to do it. He may be an ill-mannered ruffian but at least he could get the job done.

Clearing his throat Crane turned to the soldiers that had the kids surrounded, awaiting their next orders.

"Alright, very good. Now escort these children to the main room so we can begin the first set of tests, then you may all get some rest while our own men take watch over the children."

Without wanting another second the soldiers began ushering the scared kids toward a set of huge metal doors at the far side of the docking by. James watched with a worried expression as the children were led away. They looked like a tiny army of defenseless munchkins as they were herded out of sight.

Crane turned to his young companion, adjusting his glasses and giving him a stern look.

"Come, Mr. Kingsley, we have a lot of work ahead of us before the maze trials are to begin," Crane called as he began to walk away.

James nodded, trying to mentally shake the troubling thoughts from his mind. Those kids were so young. Too young to be going through something like this surely. Did Ava Paige really know what she was doing? Is this really the right move? Using such fragile lives to solve their problems? Could this really work? Or….will it all be in vain?

With no answers to these question, James quickly followed the older scientist to the labs.

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

 **\- Six Days Later -**

* * *

"What do you mean these ones are being sent back!?"

"Mr. Kingsley calm down-

"Don't tell me to calm down! You can't just throw them back out into the ruins after promising them safety! They aren't sick! We can find another use for them!"

James was out of breath from yelling. He was currently arguing with one of his fellow scientist Harold Mcstroud. Within the last few days, they had finished with the first set of tests and had separated the kids into three groups. The first group was the kids that they deemed "Immune" to the Flare. Their Killzone's showed strong resistance to the disease and they proved to be quite intelligent. The second group was the ones who already showed signs of succumbing to the Flare. Seven of them even had to be euthanized when they began to act uncontrollably violent and started hurting themselves and the other kids. James understood this, he knew there was no hope for those poor kids who couldn't help what was happening to them and perhaps it was better to put them out of their misery before they became mindless monsters.

It was the third group James was angry about. Some of the kids Killzone's weren't as strong as the others. They hadn't shown any signs of contracting the Flare but most of the other scientist saw them as useless or a danger since they thought they would eventually fall victim to the brain eating disease like the others. So they agreed to send that group of kids back out into ruined cities since they were considered worthless.

James was beyond furious.

"Mr. Kingsley I assure you these kids will become just like the other infected within a weeks time if they stay here. We can't take the risk of them hurting the healthy kids. We must focus on our own priorities first!"

James could feel his face turning red in rage.

"That's not fair to the kids! We gave them a home here! We can't just take that-

"James Nathaniel Kingsley!"

An angry shout silenced the young scientist.

Crane was advancing upon the duo from down the hall, his own face was twisted in rage at the scene before him.

"What do you think you are doing!? We are on limited time right now and you're wasting it on a petty argument! Get back to the lab this instant and continue your work!"

James felt another surge of fury course through him.

"Are you okay with this too!? Sending those defenseless kids back into the cities where they will undoubtedly die the moment they're left alone!? You can't do that!"

The anger faded from Cranes face as he realized what James and Harold's argument had been about. Running a hand through his graying hair he let out a tired sigh. This was gonna be difficult for the young man to understand.

"James…..it was a hard decision to make, but we cannot burden our already divided attention on those weakened kids while we struggle with the upcoming trials. They cannot stay here, our only option is to send them back. They are of no use to us and would only cause more harm than good."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had Crane agreed to this? He knew the older scientist was stern and no nonsense but he didn't realize he was cruel too.

"You're actually okay with this? Okay with the thought that you caused innocent children to die just because you didn't want to burden yourself with them?" James voiced was hushed and shaking with barely controlled rage.

"You're gonna take away probably the only real chance they got of living? Are you fucking sick in the head?"

Crane released a stressed sigh and reached out a hand toward the shaking scientist intending to place it comfortingly on his shoulder.

"I know you want to keep them all safe, but we must focus on our goals-

James smacked away Cranes offending arm and glared hate-filled eyes at the older man.

"Our goals? Your speaking of our goals now!? Our goal is to save mankind! And you and the others want to throw those young kids to their deaths! That's not saving anybody! Children are the hope of the future, they will be the ones to carry on when we cannot! There are barely enough children in the world as it is and you'll just stand by and watch as those precious lives are destroyed!? If you mean what you say than your an even bigger fool than I thought!"

Cranes expression suddenly turned dark with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Now you listen here, James. You know little to nothing about just how important these trials are. It needs our full attention if we are to succeed! You are to do what has been asked of you without questioning orders! Those kids will not stay here another day! The healthy ones are our prime focus now! You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut!"

A wave of hatred scorched through James body.

"No! I won't stand by and watch kids die when I know I can help them! I'm not heartless like the rest of you are! You'll have to kill me first if you think I'll just sit back and let you take them!"

Crane's face became a darker shade of red, he was ready to put this impudent fool in his place when a sudden voice stopped him.

"Gentlemen I sink I might be able to solve zis little problem."

Both scientists turned to see a tall man walking toward them from down the hall. He looked to be in his late 40's. His pale blonde hair was messy and unkempt and his lab coat and suit was covered in sand and dust. The glasses he wore had several cracks and scratches and his ghostly blue eyes had a strange look to them. Yet it was his thick German accent that caught their attention the most.

"Erwin Garver? What are you doing here?" Crane questioned.

"Just stopping by for a little visit vis Mrs. Ava Paige vile I vas in zee area. I see you have collected quite zee group of specimens for your little plan of saving zee vorld." There was barely hidden amusement in Erwin's tone.

"Damn shame not all of zem are suited for your needs."

Crane frowned. Erwin used to work with Wicked years ago when the organization first started. He was one of their most prized minds however he was constantly at odds with Paige and not a day went by when they weren't arguing about something. Eventually, Erwin left to go back to his own lab to which Crane had no idea where it was located. Secretly Crane had never trusted Erwin. The German man had seemed to have a hidden maliciousness about him that unnerved Crane to no end.

"What do you mean you think you can solve the problem?" James questioned. He was still pissed with Crane but if this Erwin Garver could in some way help, James was more than willing to hear what he had to say.

Erwin smiled.

"Zere is a sanctuary near zee lab zat I own. Survivors have been able to construct a cute little town for zemselves out of zee ruins of Althusius city. I vill be heading back zere soon to continue my vork and I'd be more zan happy to take your rejected subjects to the people zere in Althusius to be looked after. Zey love children."

Crane narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Erwin while James' eyes lit up.

"That would be perfect! Do you have a Berg? Are you able to take them now?"

Crane held an arm out in front of James to stop his rapid questioning.

"Hold on one moment James." Crane then turned his gaze to Erwin.

"First of all. What do you mean 'while you were in the area'? What business could you possibly have so close to Wicked's base? It's been nearly 5 years since anybody's seen you and there's no way Althusius can still be standing. That city was completely obliterated when the solar flares first struck."

A smug smile crept onto Erwin's face as he looked Crane in the eye.

"Vrong Morgan. Vary vrong you are. Althusius still stands, it vas merely severed from zee mainland ven zee sun unleashed its fury upon zee earth. It now exists as an island surrounded by thick fog and can only be found by zose who know vere to look. It vould be zee perfect place for zee children to take refuge. Nice n' safe. As for myself, I vas in need of special resources for my own experiments so I've left zee island for a little vile to search for them. It vould have been vary rude of me to not stop by for a little visit vile being so close by. Vouldn't you agree Morgan? Or perhaps are you unhappy to see me?"

Crane's eye twitched in annoyance. He despised it when people addressed him with his first name and Erwin had to go off and use it twice.

"How I feel about you being here is irrelevant. Are you sure the people in Althusius will accept those kids? Life is hard out there as it is, are you certain they'll take in extra mouths to feed?" Crane had a hard time believing anyone would want to be responsible for 20 some odd children in the middle of a world-wide catastrophe.

"Ja ja, I promise zey vill be vell looked after. It doesn't seem as zough you have any better options after all, eh Morgan?"

Crane had to hold himself back from snapping at the German man. Looking down at his watch he saw that they had already wasted enough time over this little squabble and if they didn't get back to the lab soon they would never be able to get all their assigned work done before nightfall.

Turning to James he raised a questioning eyebrow at the younger man.

"Would this satisfy you, Kingsley? Letting Erwin here take those kids to the so-called sanctuary in Althusius?"

James looked Erwin in the eye, his expression dead serious.

"You promise no harm will come to them? You'll really take them to the sanctuary?"

Erwin made a swift motion across his chest before letting his hand rest against his heart.

"I svear to you, zees kids vill have a good life zere in Althusius. As good a life zey'd get anyvere else in zee vorld. You can trust me to zat."

James nodded slowly, letting his gaze move to the door down the hall where the weakened kids were staying. Inwardly he wished them luck in their new home as he looked back to Erwin.

"Okay, I'll trust you to that."

"Good good, me and my own men vill see to it zey are safely transported to the people of Althusius right avay. You two busy men vill probably be vanting to get back to vork, I presume you have lots to do ja?"

Crane nodded curtly, turning to James.

"Come along then, we've wasted enough time here as it is."

Without waiting for a reply Crane began heading back in the direction of the labs, not even looking over his shoulder to see if he was following.

James nodded at Erwin before following after the older scientist his gaze lingering on the door to the children's room one final time before he turned the corner and vanished from sight.

Once he was gone a smirk wove it's way onto Erwin's face before he muttered the word 'fools' under his breath.

Little did James know he had just put his faith in the wrong man.

* * *

 **Form & Rules**

 **1.** NO flawless characters, everyone has flaws one way or another.

 **2.** You are allowed to submit 2 characters at the most but there is no guarantee that I will choose all both of them, it depends on how many people are submitting. Please send submission through PM!

 **3.** I am most likely going to take in about 10-15 characters.

 **4.** Put detail into your character. I don't wanna see a submission with hastily written out information. Be creative! This is gonna be a long running story so I'm gonna need all the info I can get on your character, even the little things I can use in this story. Plus an interesting submission with detail and innovation will give you a greater chance of getting a main role in this story. (I adore creativity)

 **5.** Please note this story may be quite gruesome and have strong language at some points so fair warning.

 **6.** The original characters of The Maze Runner (except for Ava Paige) will not be appearing in this story so please don't include them as family members, friends or love interests.

 **7.** Lastly never be afraid to ask me questions about the story or anything concerning your character. If you don't like how I'm expressing them in the story or If I had them do something they definitely wouldn't do, let me know. I don't mind going back and changing something I got wrong in a previous chapter, it's your character and I want you to enjoy the story as much as possible.

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Name: (First and last, also it doesn't have to be after a historical figure)

Nickname: (If not related to their real name please explain to me why they have that nickname and or how they got it.)

Age: (What age were they when W.I.C.K.E.D took them? Has to be around the ages of 5-9. There's gonna be a 10-year time lapse after the first few chapters so keep that in mind when choosing an age)

Gender:

Sexuality:

Nationality:

Teenage Appearance: (Please include eye color, body shape, skin tone, height, facial description, hair color/style, and length.)

Child Appearance: (I also need a description of how they looked when they were young.)

Clothing: (Please note that they are in a ruined city they have everything they can scavenge to use as clothing and equipment be creative!)

Experiment Results: (After being used as lab rats for 10 whole years describe how it has changed your character physically and mentally. Have parts of their body been remodeled? Do they lack something they once had? Are they able to do something a normal human cannot? Mind you I do not want characters with superpowers. It's more like their bodies have been altered. Here are some examples.

\- Able to leap far distances and survive long falls since his or her legs and hips are reinforced with metal rods and springs.

\- When his or her blood makes contact with air it hardens into an indestructible piece of matter. The chemicals in the blood stream cause it to become a dark purple. (So basically can't be wounded)

Be creative. Also, let me know what kind of experiments were done to them.)

Imperfections: (Varies from scars, birthmarks and medical conditions)

Personality: (Detailed Please.)

Habits: (Good and Bad.)

Past: (What happened to their family when the sun scorched the earth and before WICKED took them?

Thoughts: (What does your character feel toward W.I.C.K.E.D for taking them away from their families and selling them off to a group of sadistic scientist to be used as guinea pigs?)

Interactions: (How does your character act around others? What type of people do they get along with best? And what kind of people do they get along with least?)

Relationship: (Am I allowed to pair up your character with another? If so what kind of person is your character attracted to? Keep in mind I will ask for your permission before I pair your character to another to make sure you're okay with the pairing.)

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Like's:

Dislikes:

Fears:

Weapon: (Be creative with the weapons, anything you can dream up is possible with everything an entire ruined city can offer your character.)

Fighting Style:

Equipment: (Special objects and tools they use to help in their survival against Cranks, wild animals and opposing survivors.)

Special Skill: (What is one thing your character excels in better than most people?)

An Example of Dialogue/Quotes:

Desire: (What is something you definitely want to happen with your character in this story? I will try my best to make it so. However I cannot promise the survival of any character.)

Other: (Anything else you would like to add?)


	2. Character List

_AN - Alright here we go, these are the characters that have been accepted. I'm sorry to those I didn't pick but I was given a lot more characters than I thought I was gonna get and I don't want to overwhelm myself before even starting the story. If your character wasn't chosen that doesn't mean you don't have a chance at getting into this story. I'm eventually gonna need more characters once the story gets to a certain point so you'll have another chance. Tomorrow I'm gonna start on the first chapter and please be warned that this story will get quite gruesome at times and have strong language. Once I get into the swing of things and get used to everyone's characters I'll start aiming for weekly updates so you'll know when to look for a new chapter._

 _With all that said I hope you guys enjoy the story and remember that constructive criticism is always welcome._

* * *

 **Submitted/Main Cast -**

 **Females -**

Holly Bellemore _(Owned By: The Outsiders Realm)_

Marley Robinson _(Owned By: dancing mary poppins)_

Andrea Louise Marks _(Owned By: Green Eyes Wander)_

Joslyn Lovelock _(Owned By: Splintering Bones)_

Magnolia Kavanaugh _(Owned By: Kassidy10)_

Renae Brown _(Owned By: maycontestdrew)_

Natia Blake _(Owned By: Red blooded Being)_

Grey Adams _(Owned By: Embers to Ashes)_

Amilia Carson _(Owned By: 221tombaker)_

 **Males -**

Philip Tyler _(Owned By: HaLeY bEtH)_

Six Redford Starling _(Owned By: WhoopsUserNotFound)_

Mercer Fox _(Owned By: X-X-X-X-X)_

Deython Azoth _(Owned By: Thalen de Valdor)_

Flint O'Malley _(Owned By: Nicodeme Van Bludcreek)_

Adrian Dawn _(Owned By: BestNameYouveEverSeen)_

Mickey Bowen _(Owned By: NyanWolf)_

Andy Obelisk _(Owned By: Magick From Your Heart)_

Joseph Willows _(Owned By: Magick From Your Heart)_

 **DTD/Side Characters - (You Will Eventually Learn What DTD Stands For)**

Teddy McBride

Alexander Blake

Leah Slaughter

Spencer Vex

Fisher Oliver

Victoria Hawkins

Florence Bishop

Jasmine Karras

Bard Walker

Tabitha Sharpe

 **Outsiders -**

Beatrice Sylvia Austin _(Owned By: Waffle0)_

Auden Carlisle _(Owned By: Canima)_

Malik Delacour


	3. Chapter 1: Hopes Demise

AN- Okay so here's the first chapter guys! I apologize if your character hasn't been introduced or seen yet but this chapter is to mainly get you guys accustomed to the setting of the story and how this nightmare of a journey is gonna begin. The next few chapters are gonna be the fun ones where you guys get to meet the rest of the characters and see which scientist they are given away to. Let me know what you guys think and if you see there's something I need to improve on or there's something you wanna see just let me know. I really hope you all enjoy the first chapter! Bye for now!

* * *

For the first time in Holly's short life she experienced a dreamless sleep. Ever since she was vary small and up onto this point in time when the world turned bad and people became evil her dreams were always plagued with some kind of strange event or confusing images. She had once been afraid of them, avoiding sleep for as long as she could before exhaustion won her over and forced her to witness the visions she dreaded seeing. Over time she became accustomed to them and learned to push away her anxiety of dreaming and just look forward to the day ahead. Now she lay in a peaceful warm darkness where nothing could hurt or disturb her. After all the horrors she had to witnessed the past few months it was a welcomed relief and she wished for it to never end.

However the world is never that kind now is it?

The rumbling of the walls and the screeching of metal on metal is what first woke her up. The stench of sweat and wood rot was thick within the air causing the small space she was confined in to be over flooding with the nauseating scent.

With her peaceful dream state ruined her eyelids flickered open tiredly with strands of her night black hair scattered all around her Holly groggily lifted her head from the rough wooden floor to gaze around her disorienting surroundings. It took her a good minute to remember being loaded up into a rusty old aircraft along with a bunch of other kids for the second time and being sent off into the unknown again.

The first time the men wearing funny looking uniforms and carrying large machines saved her from the ruble of the orphanage and took her to a place made of silver and white Holly had thought she was finally safe and would be cared for. When she arrived she remembered being separated from the large group of kids and being put with a smaller one when one of the people wearing white coats said something about her not being strong enough. She wasn't exactly sure what that meant but she found herself more at ease within a group of fewer people. Some of the other kids, despite being scared of what was happening were really quite kind, some seemed a little sick and withdrawn but Holly figured they were just not feeling well. She was sure one of the white coats would give them something to make them feel better. They were gonna take care of them right?

However Holly's hope had turned into confusion. The white coats never really paid them much mind. Only stopping by the room they were all being kept in for a few moments to drop off a little food and water and whenever Holly or one of the other kids tried to ask questions they were silenced or ignored. The room they had been in was quite big, containing many bunk beds all with stark white sheets and pillows and a door at the far end of the room that led to a gleaming white bathroom. That's all their was to the room but none of them had time to become really accustomed to it before _he_ arrived.

A strange man with wispy light blonde hair and creepy pale blue eyes suddenly came to their room one day. He wore a white coat like the other adults did but his was covered in golden/brown dust and streaks of black. He spoke with a strange sounding voice and the way he looked over them sent a feeling of dread down Holly's spine. He had briefly told them he was going to take them to their new home before they were all ushered out of the white room by men dressed in dark clothing and black faceless masks, startling Holly into following along without questioning.

They were than led to another aircraft but this one was much older looking. It was covered in dents, scratches, tares and rust making it obvious it had been through a lot. The dark men then proceeded to shove them all into the back of the empty aircraft before shutting them in. For some strange reason Holly found herself overwhelmed with exhaustion and when she felt them begin to ascend into the air she found one of the four corners of the room, curled up and surprisingly fell asleep within seconds of closing her eyes.

Now wide awake she looked around herself to see she was surrounded by the others kids from the white room, all trapped in the small space. They were all wide-eyed with fear and trying desperately to hold onto something to stop themselves from tumbling over as the room continued to shake. Some of them cried for their mums while others just screamed in terror and a few remained deathly quiet. There was no lights in the space they were in, the only way they were able to see anything was from the weak orange glow emitting from the cracks in the walls scattered all around.

Holly lost her footing as she tried to stand and ended up crashing into another kid, causing whoever it was to cry out in pain. Her long night black hair tangled itself around her face, blinding her from seeing who the unfortunate victim was who had just become well acquainted with her shoulder blade. With a burst of effort she manged to heave herself off the other kid but with the uneven ground she just tripped again and crashed onto her side painfully. Tears built up her in eyes and the ten year old let out a sob as her bruised body ached fiercely.

"Holly?"

A trembling voice called out her name making Holly look up to find herself staring into a familiar pair of pale blue/green eyes belonging to a young 8 year old boy with messy caramel colored hair. Recognition lit up inside Holly and a sense of relief washed over her as she realized who she was looking at.

"Teddy!"

Lunging forward she wrapped her arms around the shorter boy, squeezing him in a tight embrace. She felt his own arms circle around her back, returning the hug. His familiar presence helped calm Holly's frantic heartbeat and for a moment she felt like she was back at the orphanage the two had grown up in since they were infants. Out of all the other children Teddy had been Holly's closest friend and he became like a little brother to her. She had briefly forgotten he had been separated into the smaller group along with her but had been sent off to the boys side. Happiness bubbled up inside Holly, she was more than happy to see a friendly face among all the strangers.

She frowned when she could feel the smaller boy trembling in her arms and clinging to her so tightly it almost hurt.

"Where are they taking us this time?" She barely heard him whisper into her shoulder.

Holly bit her lip trying to think of what to say. She had no idea where they were going but the strange man said he was taking them to their new home. Where this 'new home' was Holly hadn't a clue but she had to hope it was somewhere better than where they had been.

"I'm not sure Ted. But I think they're taking us someplace where there's families so we can be looked after properly." Holly could feel Teddy grip the material of her tattered shirt tighter.

"L-like a foster family?"

Holly shook her head firmly, remembering Teddy's bad experience with the foster parents he had been placed with 2 years back that resulted in him getting badly abused and neglected to the point that he nearly starved.

"No Teddy, not like a foster family. Like real families. Ones that love and care for you and protect you through everything. We should be safe once we get to them."

Teddy loosened his grip slightly but kept a hold of Holly.

"….Please Holly…...I don't wanna see the bloody, bald men again….they scare me."

Holly felt her little heart break when she heard the sob in Teddy's voice. It seemed like only yesterday when the two of them had been chased from the ruins of the orphanage by a group of horrific looking men that had no hair or teeth and their skin was covered in glistening crimson. Spit had flown from their gaping mouths and they reached for the kids with a powerful hunger glowing in their crazed eyes like starving wolves.

Holly had been so sure those monsters were going to catch them, but as they turned a corner around an old house the dark masked men suddenly appeared and the next thing Holly knew the crazed men were in an unmoving heap and the masked men took her and Teddy onto one of the silver aircrafts. It had been the worst experience of her life.

Pushing away the upsetting thoughts Holly brought her attention back to the terrified boy that was crying into her shoulder. No matter what she had to keep him safe, she had to make sure he never had to go through something like that again. She wanted to see Teddy smiling that brilliant smile that made his eyes shine and those cute little dimples appear.

Holly was abruptly jolted out of her thoughts when the room suddenly gave a huge jerk, sending all the kids sprawling forwards and hitting into the far wall. Holly managed to quickly grab onto a loose piece of splintering wood that was jutting out of the wall, keeping a firm hold on Teddy as she managed to keep the two of them from joining the dogpile. Another boy managed to do the same by gripping onto a metal plate that was attached to the floor, his cerulean blue eyes were wide as he gazed at the groaning heap of children and his tousled dark reddish brown hair was sticking up in every direction.

All the noise suddenly died down and a light Holly didn't notice before in the center of the ceiling came to life, illuminating the small room allowing Holly to finally get a good look at the other kids.

She watched as a girl with insanely curly chocolate brown hair dragged herself out from under the vary bottom of the pile, accidentally stepping on the hand of a chubby boy with mousy brown hair and a strangely pointed face. The girl didn't seem to notice his squeal of pain as she crawled away from the pile.

Another girl with golden blonde, shoulder length hair and wide baby blue eyes was glaring at a shorter girl with long pale ginger hair that went all the way down to her hips who was struggling to detangle herself from a small boy that shockingly resembled the blonde haired girl.

"Get off my brother!" The blondes angry shout obviously startled the ginger, as she let out a fearful yelp and with surprising speed pulled herself away from the young boy and hared away to the far side of the room, finally allowing the blonde girl to pull her brother to his feet.

"Hey! Get your fucking foot out of my face!"

Holly's mouth dropped open in shock at the foul language used by a boy with messy ebony black hair that grew slightly long down the nape of his neck and angry amber eyes that were glaring fiercely at a terrified looking girl with white/blonde hair that had lighter and darker gold highlights and pretty dark brown eyes that looked almost black in the odd lighting. She was staring fearfully at the raven as he shoved her away and gave her a look that could kill if those eyes were blades.

The rest of the kids managed to get back on their feet with relative ease and none of them seemed to be hurt expect for a few bruises and trampled fingers and toes. Holly looked down to see Teddy watching the others curiously, his eyes bloodshot from crying and still clinging to her shirt.

Now that the room was still and the earsplitting noise's were gone Holly sat down against the wall with the young boy resting in her lap. She wondered briefly why they had stopped. They had been stuck in the small room for quite some time now so perhaps they had finally arrived. She hoped so, the disgusting smell in the air was becoming too much to handle and Teddy needed proper rest.

The other children had spread out and were settling down where ever they could find a spot. Some looked ready to fall asleep while others gazed around curiously.

Holly noticed a boy with wind swept light brown hair and golden brown eyes was pressing his ear up against the door at the far side of the room, obviously trying to listen for the masked men to return. A tiny girl with short curly blonde hair and a face covered in freckles joined him, also pressing the side of her head against the cold metal in an attempt to hear what was going on outside.

"What are you doing that for?"

Another boy had ventured over to the eavesdropping pair, a curious look in his pale gray eyes. Holly was surprised she hadn't noticed him before. His hair was an icy silvery blue color that stood out against the shadowy room and shined in the dim lighting. It was obviously dyed.

"Sssh!" The boy with brown hair hushed the younger kid, giving all his attention to whatever he was listening to through the door.

"I can hear people talking."

The short girl with the curly blonde locks nodded in agreement.

"I can hear them to." Her voice was soft as feathers as she spoke.

Not long after Holly could hear voices emitting from beyond the steel walls without needing to be right up against it. Whoever was out there was approaching the door.

"Come along. I vouldn't have pulled you all avay from your vork if it vasn't important. I can assure you zis vill make you all vary happy."

It was the creepy guy! Holly felt a coldness take hold of her and she found herself pulling Teddy closer to her chest.

"It better Erwin. I was in the middle of a vary delicate process for my latest creation and I would appreciate getting back to it as soon as possible."

"Latest creation eh? I hope your not attempting to put another enhanced prosthetic on one of those wild dogs of yours? May I remind you what happened last month in the pit when you let it free with the others? It took you days to clean the bloody mess and I'm still finding chunks of intestine wedged in the shock panels."

"I don't need your useless observations Blackrain. It was merely a minor miscalculation on my part and I've already corrected it for future experiments. You should worry about your own work and stop sticking your nose in business that doesn't concern you."

"Whoa, someones a little touchy today. Didn't get your fat free caramel macchiato with extra foam this morning huh Hoffman? If those bags under your eyes get any bigger your gonna permanently look like uncle fester before your fiftieth birthday."

"Now see here you don't have any-

"Alright alright, zats enough you two. Alvays fighting over nonsense day after day ven zere is no need. Once you see zee gifts I have brought you all I'm sure you'll be more zan pleased."

Suddenly the garage like door began to lift causing overly bright white light to fill the small space, burning the kids delicate eyes. The brown haired boy and blonde haired girl scrambled away from the door, backing up against the far wall. As the door opened fully Holly blinked furiously against the blinding light, trying to focus on what lay beyond.

To her surprise she saw something she hadn't expected to. Something she had hoped she wouldn't have to see again.

A huge white and silver room without a speck of color and a group of 13 adults, all wearing white coats were lined up in front of the door looking expectantly and mildly surprised at the dirty faces of 26 terrified children gazing nervously back.

The creepy blonde man with a weird voice was looking at them with a satisfied smile that sent a cold feeling of foreboding down Holly's spine as he turned his gaze back to his colleague's that were giving him weird looks.

"Zese my friends are your new subjects." He than turned his pale blue gaze back to the startled kids who flinched at his words.

"Children zis is your new home."

Little did these kids know they were about to be introduced to hell on earth, and there was no way out.


	4. Chapter 2: Masquerade of Demons

AN- Chapter two complete! Sorry this took so long to get out guys! I had a hard time starting it and life got in the way, delaying me from getting it done when I intended to have it out a week ago. Anyway, in this chapter you'll get to see which scientist your character has been given to and the other kids they will be sharing close quarters with. All the scientist are going to be addressed with their surname's rather than their first name (with the exception of Erwin). I find it makes it easier to remember, well at least it does for me. (Fun fact one of the scientists surnames is actually my surname. I wonder if any of you can figure out which one.) Also, for future chapters I'm going to try and get at least three different Pov's so the story will be told through everyone's eyes and you get to experience the story though different perspectives. Oh, also wanted to let you guys know that the ten year time lapse is going to happen gradually rather than all at once. So after I get a handful of chapters done showing whats happening with each and every character and bonds start to form between the kids I'll do a small time lapse (probably a year or two at a time) than we'll get to see whats happened over that time with everyone and trust me I have a lot planned. I should have explained this better before hand so as not to confuse you guys, sorry. Okay, okay enough of my rambling, it's time for you guys to get reading! Hope you like it, bye for now! (Also the character list had been updated, check it out and let me know if you think I should add the scientists names to the list as well!)

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Philip cried out in pain as he was forcibly pushed from the shadowy confines of the rusted airship by a masked man, falling onto his already bruised hands and knees. He attempted to crawl away when he saw the dark man reaching for him again but was stopped by a firm hand on his ankle that dragged him back and roughly forced him onto his feet.

"Stay there." The masked man growled angrily, his voice slightly muffled by the hard black material covering his face.

Around Philip the rest of the kids were being given the same abusive treatment. Some of them screamed and others cried as the dark men violently pulled them from the safety of the foul smelling room, placing the squirming children in a haphazard line in front of the adults wearing white coats.

Philip flinched as he watched the boy with messy, ebony black hair punch one of the masked men in the face that only resulted in himself getting struck even harder upside the head, causing him to fall to the floor in an unmoving heap.

A short girl with dark brown/almost black hair that was tied up in two high ponytails and light greyish blue eyes shrieked in terror at the violent act and made a run for airship. A masked man standing by the entrance grabbed one of her pigtails as she ran past and with one big heave threw her back toward the rest of the children.

She let out a ghastly scream of pain as she crashed into the boy with reddish-brown hair, causing them both to tumble to the ground. The tiny girl burst into tears as the boy pushed himself to his feet looking angry. Philip noticed the girl had scrapped her elbow on the uneven floor pretty badly. Blood was oozing from the now raw exposed flesh and tears streamed down her face as she curled up into a whimpering ball.

The redhead whipped around to glare at the masked man that had thrown her.

"Hey mister, why did you do that!? She's hurt because of you!"

The faceless man turned his head toward the young boy before approaching him and grabbing him roughly by the chin and forcing his head up so their faces were only a centimeter apart.

"If you wanna keep that tongue of yours you'll shut up before I rip it out. Now get into line and stay there!" His voice was like a growl as he turned the redhead around to face the white coats and pushed him forward before walking away, leaving the young boy to stumble into the crooked line of kids.

Another masked man had picked up the crying girl and put her back on her feet at the vary end of the line. She stood hunched over with her arms wrapped around herself, sniffling as she stared at the ground.

Running a hand through his windswept brown hair as he looked around, Philip found himself standing between two boys with jet black hair. For a moment he thought they were siblings before he noticed despite their hair being that same inky black color they looked nothing like each other.

The boy on his left was slightly chubby. He was short, had quite noticeable dimples, dark brown eyes and his raven colored hair stuck up at the back. He was gazing at the awaiting adults clad in white looking curious rather than afraid like most of the other children.

The boy on Philips right was the complete opposite. He was shaking as he stared ahead and was refusing to make eye contact with the adults, fixating his narrow, pale brown eyes on the far wall instead. He had a slightly angular face, light brown skin and his hair the color of shadow reached just above his eyes. He suddenly turned to look at Philip and when their eyes met the other boy quickly looked away.

Without thinking Philip was about to ask what was wrong but was stopped when the man with the strange accent and ghostly pale blue eyes suddenly stepped forward, clearing his throat. He was looking at his fellow white coats with a pleased look on his face.

"As you can see ladies and gentlemen our friends over at Vicked have given us a generous gift. Zey found zemselves with a few misfits on zeir hands and visely handed zem over ven I offered to relieve zem of zeir little burdens. Vee can now properly move forward with our plans for Project Delta and hopefully succeed with all our endeavors vithin a few years time so vee can prepare for ven the Slade's call on us."

Philip stared at the strange looking man confused. What did he mean when he said subjects? What was Project Delta and….did he say that he and the rest of the kids were gifts?

The women who had been arguing with the man before the kids had been revealed was giving the blonde a disbelieving look. She had stood by quietly the entire time the kids were being unloaded and watched curiously as the blonde had spoken. An amused smile formed on her face and a tiny snort of a laugh broke through her thin lips as she gazed at the German man.

"Come on now Erwin, you honestly think were gonna believe that Ava Paige just handed over a group of her subjects to you? That women is such a tight ass that she'd make you give up an arm and both your legs before she would even consider doing you a favor. Be honest now. Where did you stumble upon these little midgets? Scarver? Or did you finally grow a pair and ordered the men to raid Windover like I suggested?"

Philip had to admit he didn't like the looks of this women. Her short ruffled hair was the same color as blood and her stormy blue-gray eyes had a look of smug pride that lacked any shred of sympathy.

Erwin waved a dismissive hand at the crimson haired women.

"Don't be foolish Blackrain. I vouldn't lie to you. Miss Ava has all the healthy subjects she needs for her little maze and trial plans, these are merely the eh….'unvanted' of zee lot. She isn't even avare they are gone. In truth she probably had no idea zey even existed."

Philip felt his heart sink hearing that.

Surely that wasn't true. The adults that had taken them in before cared about what happened to them right? They couldn't just forget about them and think of them as unwanted or as misfits. They hadn't done anything wrong, they weren't weak or useless. Everything was going to be okay….right?

Blackrain still didn't look convinced by the Germans reassuring words but didn't push the subject any further.

"Whatever you say Erwin. So how are you planning on dividing up these little rug rats? There's thirteen of us and twenty-eight of them."

Before Erwin could respond a man with a mess of short, wavy penny brown hair and dark golden eyes interrupted.

"If it wasn't obvious to _you_ my work requires a constant supply of subjects to keep the testing process running and the continuation of improving my creations as they are made. I can't afford to be backtracked anymore than I already have on my work and the wild dogs I have been using are sad excuses for subjects." The brunette than turned his golden gaze to the frowning German.

"Erwin if I may, I must ask that I am given at least seven of these children for my experiments. It's quite necessary if I'm to complete my work in time for the Slade's deadline."

Erwin opened his mouth to answer the brunette but was once again interrupted. This time by a man with short dirty blonde hair, dark blue eyes and a chin dusted with stubble.

"Look here Hoffman. I respect and appreciate your little 'inventions' as much as the next guy but my work is also vary important and I've barley scratched the surface on perfecting my own theories and carrying out my own experiments on living beings. I need subjects just as much as you do."

The blondes statement seemed to start a fight between all the white coats. They all began arguing with each other and started getting pretty angry, mostly at Hoffman who was insisting his work was far more important than anyone elses.

Philip took a few steps back, staring in disbelief at the adults. He was so confused. He thought they said they were being taken to ' _a new home'_ but this place wasn't a home at all. Everything about this place screamed dangerous and evil and Philip didn't want to be there for another second. The rest of the kids also seemed to take notice that something bad was about to happen. The ebony haired boy that had been struck to the ground had managed to get back on his feet and was glaring hatefully at the white coats. A pair of blondes that Philip had confirmed as brother and sister where standing side by side with the older sister holding her little brothers hand firmly within hers and staring ahead with stoney eyes.

"Hey, that's enough!"

Philip looked back to see a women with long pale blonde hair the color of sandstone that was tied back in a ponytail and cold, frosty green eyes had raised her voice to get the other adults attention.

It seemed to have worked quite effectively, as the other white coats arguing came to an abrupt stop and all eyes turned to the annoyed looking blonde.

"If your all quite done wasting what little time we have to spare for this little 'meeting' you'll let Garver here speak instead of standing around arguing like 5 year olds." Her voice was as cold as her eyes and as she spoke and her tone was barbed and venomous.

The other adults gave her displeased looks but her statement seemed to have gotten through to them as their arguing didn't start up again. Although furious looks were still being cast at Hoffman.

Erwin gave the blonde a half-hearted smile and a grateful nod before addressing his subordinates.

"I am quite avare of everyone's desperation for proper subjects and the stress of the deadline zat has been given to us but I have come up vis a vay of dividing up the children so that each of you are given a fair amount for your particular area of research and range of experiments." He turned his pale blue gaze to a pair of men that were standing the furthest away from him. One had long rust colored hair that was tied back in a ponytail and pale dusky brown eyes while the other, which was quite taller had vary short black hair and unnaturally dark blue eyes that seemed empty and cold.

"Rosenthal and Phantomhive. Chemical composition and stealth adaptations are a must for our goal so you vill get three subjects each for your line of experiments. I also managed to get my hands on the childrens personal files from our little friend visin Vicked so I vas able to choose suitable subjects for you all based on the kids current states."

All the children seemed to flinch and rear back when the blondes gaze suddenly turned on them.

"Ven I call your name you are to go to your assigned eh….'guardian' visout question. Any disobedience vill not be tolerated and if you refuse to listen our masked friends here vill deal vis you."

Philip glanced over his shoulder at the half a dozen men standing behind them. With their faces covered it was impossible to see their expressions but Philip could have sworn they were giving the kids malicious looks, daring them to put one toe out of line.

"Magnolia Kavanaugh, Andy Obelisk and Fisher Oliver, you three are Rosenthal's, head over to him at once."

Philip was jolted back from his thoughts to watch the three kids that were called upon slowly move out of the line and head over to the brunette man.

The girl that Philip was going to assume as Magnolia was a short little thing. She looked to be five or six with a head full of ridiculously curly chocolate brown hair that grew just below her shoulders and round blue eyes. She moved cautiously to Rosenthal's side followed by two boys.

One had jet black, spiky hair that ended just below his ears and stuck up oddly, his wide eyes were bright hazel in color and his skin was pale as snow. He was quite scrawny too, it looked as though the smallest breeze could knock him over.

The other was a tall boy with olive colored skin, wavy chestnut brown hair that grew to his mid neck and a face full of freckles. What stood out the most about him was a deep, ragged scar that ran down the left side of his face. Philip briefly wondered how that happened.

"Andrea Louise Marks, Victoria Hawkins and Florence Bishop your Phantomhive's."

This time three girls broke from the line of kids and made their way over to the raven haired man.

The smallest of the three was a tiny girl with short, curly blonde hair and large green eyes along with cheeks dusted with freckles. Philip immediately recognized her from the airship when he had been trying to listen at the door and she had ventured over to join him. He had also briefly spoken to her back at the other building and he was near certain she was Andrea.

Philip was completely unfamiliar with the other two girls. They both had dark brown hair but one had hers tied up in a bun that was falling apart and the others hair was so short Philip could have passed her off for a guy if he hadn't seen her face. Also her skin was the color of coffee.

As the trio of girls reached Phantomhive's side Erwin turned back to the rest of the white coats, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"Gaunt and Mehrunes you can also have three each for the strength enhancements and pain endurance." He glanced back down at the papers in his hands.

"Six Redford Starling, Adrian Dawn and Leah Slaughter you go to Gaunt." Erwin pointed at a man with completely gray hair and dull brown eyes.

"Mickey Bowen, Bard Walker and Tabitha Sharpe to Mehrunes." The German motioned over to a vary tall man with charcoal black hair that was gelled back causing it to have an odd shine and neutral blue eyes. He also had an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

The six chosen kids reluctantly moved to their 'guardians' without a word, obviously nervous about the threat hanging over their heads if they misbehaved.

One of the raven haired boys that had been standing beside Philip was amongst them, the one that looked curious rather than afraid. Philip also took notice that the boy with the reddish-brown hair and cerulean blue eyes had also left the line to stand near Gaunt. He seemed angry as he looked up at the gray haired man and kept a good 3 feet away from him as if being too close disgusted him.

The redhead was joined by the raven haired boy and a girl with strawberry blonde hair that was done back in a long braid and an old jeweled pink ribbon clip was keeping her bangs back from covering her pretty silvery-gray eyes.

Near Mehrunes a boy with a strangely pointed face, mousy brown hair with bowl cut bangs and pale blue eyes was glancing around nervously, his head jerking swiftly about as if he was trying to look at everything at once. He was quite chubby and looking a little closer Philip noticed he was missing his left pinkie.

To his left stood another boy and from the looks of him he probably was the oldest kid there. He was tall, taller than all the other children and he had an air of high maturity about him. His dark sandy-brown hair was pushed back but stuck out at the base of his neck and his light green eyes had almost a haunted look to them. Beside him was a girl with perfectly straight black hair that ended just above her hips and her sapphire blue eyes stood out against her pale complexion.

"Levesque, Venturi and Knight for blood alterations, eye modifications and the study of magnetism you three vill get two subjects each. If you are in need of more later on ask one of zee others to lend you one of zeirs. Any problem with zat?"

The three white coats he was looking at shook their heads at Erwin's question, allowing the German to continue.

"Vary vell. Levesque you vill get both Natia and Alexander Blake as your subjects. Might as vell keep siblings together to prevent an unneeded fight ja? Venturi you vill get Deython Azoth and Jasmine Karras and Knight can have Grey Adams and Amilia Carson."

The blonde siblings moved forward as one, their hands intertwined as they walked up to Levesque. The sister – Natia gave their assigned guardian a hard look and pulled her younger brother closer as they reached her side.

The women they had been given to was by far the shortest adult there. She was slightly plump too, her shoulder length hickory colored hair was tied to the side in a strange kind of bun and her mocha colored eyes looked unfriendly. She also had a pair of thin framed glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, reminding Philip of a librarian.

Venturi turned out to be the man with the dirty blonde hair that had spoken out against Hoffman. He gave a slight smile to the two kids he had been given to as they slowly approached him.

The boy with shadowy black hair that had been standing next to Philip was shaking as he approached the blonde, he looked as though he was going to be sick. He must be Deython, Philip figured. A girl with tanned skin and creamy blonde hair stood at his side. She gave the frightened boy a gentle nudge with her shoulder and offered him a weak smile when their eyes made contact. He gave a tiny one in return but it quickly faded when he looked back at Venturi who was still gazing down at them thoughtfully.

Two more girls – Grey and Amilia had stopped in front of another male scientist that was looking at them with a rather placid expression. His juniper green eyes showed no real emotion other than boredom and his once ginger hair was rapidly turning silver.

The two girls standing before him looked tiny compared to their guardian. The first girl had dark brown eyes that looked almost pitch black in the odd lighting, her hair was a cascade of white, light blondes and dark golds that shimmered like sunlight. Beside her stood a girl that was a little taller than her, with dark umber brown hair that grew just pass her shoulders, bowl cut bangs and cedar brown eyes full of hesitant curiosity.

Erwin cleared his throat as he shuffled through the papers he was holding than peered over the top of them to gaze over the remaining adults and children.

"Avery, York and Miss Frost. The vork you three pursue doesn't really require human subjects at the moment, correct? However if you desire one of zee children I vill not deny you one. Vat say you?"

A man with onyx black hair and intense azure blue eyes leaned over to murmur something to the frosty eyed women who had calmed the fighting before. They had a quick conversation shared in hushed tones before looking back to Erwin.

"I think Miss Frost and I will take on one subject each for our specific areas of study, just in case they are needed." Concluded the onyx haired man.

Erwin nodded, continuously going over the papers in his hands.

"Vich ones vould the two of you like?"

The blonde women – Frost, gazed over the remaining children till her eyes landed on the boy with the weird silver/blue hair. He returned her gaze with a curious turn of his head as his pale gray eyes met her cold green ones.

"I'll take that one I suppose." Frost decided.

Erwin ran a finger over the document he was holding till he came across the file matching the blue haired boys picture.

"Alright zan, Flint O'Malley is yours my dear."

Frost swiftly motioned to the gray eyed boy to come to her, which he did without hesitating, walking up to her still looking fascinated.

Avery was busy closely observing the remaining children, his azure blue gaze burning into the eyes of the kids that met his criticizing irises. He stopped when he came upon a slim girl with night black hair that grew down to her waist. It had a slight wave to it with bangs swept to the left side of her face. Her eyes were a dark, blazing evergreen color and her creamy colored skin glowed with health even in these horrid times. A small boy with caramel colored hair and pale blue/green eyes was clinging to her waist, his short arms barley able to reach all the way around. He looked terrified and when he saw the dark haired man watching them he buried his face in her side.

As Philip continued to stare, unable to tear is eyes away from the girl he missed Avery's eyes light up when he spotted her and an unnerving smile crept onto his lips.

"I want her." He answered simply.

Philip saw the girl's eyes widen in surprise and her hold on the small, fragile boy tighten.

Erwin looked up briefly to see who he had chosen before bringing out her own file.

"Vary vell. Holly Bellemore it is zan."

Avery backed away from the children, returning to his spot in the line of adults, his eyes never leaving the black haired girl.

Erwin was now looking towards a man with chestnut brown hair, ginger sideburns and gray eyes that was muttering under his breath and looking completely lost in thought. His hair was sticking up on the left side of his head as if he had just woken up and that was the side he had fallen asleep on. His clothes were ruffled and creased and he had dark rings under his eyes making him appear older than he actually was.

"York? How about you?"

The man in question jumped when his name was called and he looked around the room confused until he made eye contact with an annoyed looking Erwin.

"Oh...oh right...the children..uh." He glanced over at the awaiting kids nervously.

"I..I don't really n-need one Garver….I only h-have ra-" He stopped when his eyes landed on the girl with the long, pale ginger hair. She was cowering behind the ebony haired boy and shaking violently with tears built up in her tawny colored eyes. Her hair was messy and curled strangely at the ends and her softly defined face had the lightest dusting of freckles.

York starred at her looking shocked, his mouth hanging open slightly and a look of heartbreak and longing was reflected in his eyes.

"I….I'll take her." He pointed at the shaking girl and she flinched as if she'd been struck, moving to hide herself more behind her human shield.

Erwin cast York a strange look, seeing his odd reaction but only shrugged before pulling out another paper.

"If zat's vat you vish York. Joslyn Lovelock is now yours."

Almost in a daze York moved forward until he was standing before the ebony haired boy, who gave the brunette a disgusted look before moving away, leaving the ginger exposed.

With her shied now gone Joslyn quickly backed away from York as he knelt down in front of her, raising his hands innocently showing he meant no harm.

"It's gonna be okay little one. I'm not going to hurt you." The stutter disappeared from York's voice and was replaced by a soft, gentle tone as he reached forward to take the young girls hand.

She stood frozen to the spot as he did so but relaxed when she saw the genuine tenderness in his eyes. Even allowing him to reach forward and pick her up so she was tucked delicately in his arms like a porcelain doll.

The other adults gave York judging looks as he walked back over to join them, standing a little further away from the main group, gazing at the tiny girl in his arms as if he had found something precious he had lost, taking no notice of anything else.

Erwin watched him for a long moment looking confused before turning to look at Hoffman and Blackrain, who had yet to receive their subjects. Hoffman looked annoyed while Blackrain had a rather lazy expression on her face with her hands shoved into her coat pockets watching everything unfold before her without comment.

"Alright now, Hoffman and Blackrain. Both of you have very similar vork and operate your experiments in similar fashions. I vould like to suggest zat zee pair of you share zee remaining subjects between yourselves. After all they vould be sharing zee same living quarters either vay. You could-"

"I'm going to stop you right there Garver." Hoffman suddenly interrupted. He had gone from looking annoyed to just plain pissed.

"My work, be it a tad similar to Blackrain's is much more advanced than hers. I can't take the chance of her unperfected experiments hindering my own if we share subjects. I must have a set for myself that haven't been tampered with by Blackrain's mad inventions."

The women in question just laughed at Hoffman's words looking amused rather than upset at just being insulted.

"Ouch. Now that's just plain rude Michael, and I thought we were friends." Her tone was full of feigned hurt.

Hoffman gave Blackrain a scornful look before turning to Erwin with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

The blonde had watched the two silently, barley hiding a small smirk at their little disagreement before shuffling through the papers one last time.

"Fine Hoffman, have it your vay. You can have Mercer Fox, Marley Robinson, Joseph Willows and Spencer Vex. Any problems vis zat?"

The brunette shook his head, the sour expression on his face dimming a bit but still vividly there.

"Blackrain zat means you get Philip Tyler, Renae Brown and Teddy McBride. Zat okay my dear?"

"No complaints here Erwin." The redhead replied with a grin.

Philip's heart sank further in his chest. He was stuck with Blackrain? What would that mean in the days to come?

Erwin handed out the documents to each one of his respective subordinates before reclaiming his spot in front of everyone with a serious expression on his face.

"Alright, now zat each child has been assigned a sci-...I mean 'guardian' I vould like to suggest that each of you take zee children to zeir new living quarters to get settled in. Also don't forget to feed zem something, it's nearing midnight. I bid good luck to you all and let's hope zee odds are in our favor concerning the Slade's and our never ending research."

Erwin cast a less than genuine smile toward the other white coats before turning on his heel and swiftly leaving the room through the far door that led to a long hallway from what Philip could see.

As the door closed with a loud 'bang' the room was plagued into an unnerving silence leaving the kids to gaze at the adults with curious/nervous expressions, waiting to see what would happen now.

Avery was the one to break the heavy silence with a tired sigh as he scratched the back of his head. He turned to look at the rest of his associates with a blank expression.

"Well, let's get the little pests to their rooms. We've wasted enough time with this little meeting already."

"Agreed." Murmured Frost, who gave Flint a nudged before following Erwin's lead and exiting the room. The blue haired boy hurried after her, casting a quick look over his shoulder to glimpse the other kids one last time before he disappeared from view.

"Come on you three, I wont slow down for you so quicken your stride and follow me." Phantomhive muttered to the three girls he had been given as he begun to walk away.

The trio followed him out along with Levesque, Rosenthal, Venturi and Knight. All their subjects followed along behind them like a bunch of ducklings following their mothers lead. They really had no other choice anyway.

As Mehrunes, Gaunt and York were leaving out a separate door Avery had moved forward and was trying to pull Holly and Teddy apart, yet the moment he tried to do so Teddy let out an earsplitting scream and began crying, desperately trying to hold onto the dark haired girl.

"No! I wanna stay with Holly!"

Philip felt his heart break as he watched Blackrain walk over and together with Avery's help they broke the pair away from each other with Avery dragging the thrashing girl away toward the door.

"No! Please! Please let him stay with me! Teddy! TEDDY!"

The small boy reached out his arms towards her, wailing and sobbing as they were forced further and further away from one another.

Philip couldn't just stand by and watch any longer. He quickly ran towards Blackrain and started pulling at her arms, trying to make her let Teddy go.

"Stop it! Why can't they just stay together!?"

Before Blackrain could answer him Philip felt a pair of arms hook under his shoulders and lift him away from the crimson haired women. He turned and saw it was one of the faceless men, holding him back from the heart wrenching scene.

"Let me go!" Philip screamed, kicking fiercely in a vain attempt at being freed. To his surprised it worked! The man suddenly let out a shout of pain and dropped Philip onto the floor, where he landed on his rump. Hissing in pain Philip looked up, confused and finally saw just why the man had let him go.

The boy with ebony black hair had lunged forward and sunk his teeth into the masked man's leg like a wild dog would and had his arms and legs locked around the limb as he attempted to take a chunk out of the man.

Another masked man quickly ran forward and pulled out a strange little device from his vest that resembled a needle. He stabbed it into the ebony haired boys side and to Philips shock he watched as a bright blue current of electricity took hold of the other boys body, causing him unfasten his teeth from his victims flesh and let out a scream of pain as agony consumed him. Before he could react Philip was once again restrained by yet another masked man, that kept him in a firm hold.

"If you don't want to end up like your friend here I suggest you quit interfering and stay silent!" The man sneered.

Avery had manged to drag Holly to the far exit of the room, gripping her wrist so tightly that bruises were sure to form by morning. No matter how much she twisted and tore away at his arm he refused to let go. He was just too strong for her.

"Teddy! I..it's going to be okay! I'll come find you! I promise!" Holly cried, tears streaming down her face as Avery carried her out the doors with her still fighting him every step of the way.

With her now gone Teddy let out a grief stricken cry and collapsed limply in Blackrain's arms. His breathing coming in quick, uneven gasps as he continued to sob pitifully.

Hoffman had watched the whole struggle with a look of disgust and annoyance. His eye's were currently gazing at the ebony haired boy, who was now laying on the floor unconscious from the electrocution. Hoffman ran a finger over the top of the documents he had been given and pulled out a sheet of paper with the information of his new subjects.

"Mercer Fox huh? Of course I get stuck with the delinquent of the lot, tch!" He stuffed the paper away back into the folder with barley hidden frustration.

"At least we know they have a little fire in them. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to be given a bunch of thumb suckers to work with." Blackrain said with a smirk, standing up fully holding Teddy by the arms as he continued to cry.

"Speaking of which….." She was gazing at the small boy with a raised eyebrow as if deciding what to do about him. She than suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Philip, who was still being restrained by the faceless man. He could see her eye's light up with an idea and felt his blood turn cold when he realized he was a part of it.

"You there, let the kid go. I can make better use of him."

The masked man didn't hesitate to release the brunette boy, letting him fall to the ground once again, not bothering to set him down nicely.

"Since you were so intent on helping before you can now watch over the runt for me and make sure he doesn't drown himself in his own tears before dawn." She strode over to Philip before dumping the whimpering boy at the brunettes feet, not even waiting for a response before turning on her heel and walking away, not noticing the glare that Philip sent the back of her head.

Feeling more than a little lost, Philip looked down at the crying boy with no clue on what to do with him. The girl with the pigtails that had been thrown earlier slowly crept over to the two boys, gazing at the tearful mess of a child with a look of sadness and sympathy. She dropped to her knees next to him and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, giving it a little shake.

"Don't cry. Remember what she said, she's going to come find you. You'll be able to see her real soon." Despite her kind words Teddy remained curled up in ball, sobbing Holly's name repeatedly with his arms wrapped around himself.

"Are you Renae?" Philip questioned. If she was that meant the three of them were in Blackrains care.

The blue eyed girl looked up and nodded slowly, looking over Philip carefully.

"Your Philip?" It was the older boys turn to nod in confirmation, offering the small girl a half hearted smile before looking over to where Hoffman was gathering his own group of kids together. One of the masked men had picked up Mercer, who was still unconscious and laying limply in his arms.

Next to Hoffman was a girl with wavy, medium brown hair that fell to her shoulders, warm brown eyes flecked with gold and very prominent dimples. Curiosity gleamed in her pretty irises as she gazed up at Hoffman. She must be Marley, Philip guessed as she was the only other girl left in the room besides Renae.

At the brunette girls side was a boy with dark blonde hair that was so long it reached his mid back and had a very shaggy look to it. His eyes were the color of ash and compared to the other kids he was tall and had quite an athletic build.

Standing just a foot or two away from him was another boy with cinnamon colored hair, pewter gray eyes and golden-brown skin. He was currently staring at the still body of Mercer with a look of admiration in his eyes which confused Philip. After that little episode with Holly and Teddy's separation Philip was wary of the ebony haired boy after seeing how viciously he had gone after the masked man and the wild look he had in his eyes.

"Come Blackrain, let's just get the kids out of here before another one of the little gremlins try to cannibalize anyone else." Hoffman called as he ushered his group out of the docking bay with the masked man carrying Mercer following.

"Whatever." Blackrain mumbled before gesturing to Philip and his two companions to follow her.

As she trailed after Hoffman, Philip and Renae gently pulled Teddy to his feet. He wobbled and trembled as they set him upright and his head was bowed as he continued to sniffle. Renae pressed against his side as they followed Blackrain to the exit, making sure he didn't trip or stumbled along the way.

Walking through the steel plated door last Philip glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the remaining masked men board the rusted airship before igniting the engine, causing the hunk of scrap metal to lift into the air and slowly hover toward a pair of rickety old garage like doors that squealed noisily as they begun to open.

The only thing Philip could see was a bunch of dark brown smog obscuring the outside world as the aircraft flew out of the docking bay and was immediately swallowed into the veil of cloud, disappearing entirely from view.

With it now gone the garage doors quickly came down and slammed shut, trapping all the young and innocent occupants inside the building full of unknown nightmares and demons masquerading as 'guardians'.

With nothing else to see Philip hurried after the others who had made it far ahead of him, not noticing he had lagged behind.

Philip had no idea it would be _years_ before he ever saw the outside world again.

* * *

AN- Shits about to get real guys, be prepared to experience the demented side of my brain.


	5. Author's Note 1 - Update Delay

_Hey everyone, Kiba here just wanting to let you all know what's going on currently and why chapter 3 of Forsaken is taking so long to get out._

 _I greatly apologize it's been so long since a proper update but I have run into a bit of trouble here in real life. Basically, I got fired from my job about little over a month back and have been unable to find any work since. For someone who has several bills that need paying, a dog that needs feeding and a car that needs gas this is not good. I've had to resort to using the money I've been saving up for college and that to me is a giant piss off. The cherry on top of this giant fail cake is that just before I lost my job my cursed laptop decided it had enough of my bullshit and shut off for good. I've tried taking it to get fixed but they basically told me it's a lost cause since it's completely fried -slow sarcastic clap's - thank you universe, always good to know you're on my side *mumbles* son of a bi***. I'm pretty sure whatever is left of my sanity is slowly deteriorating from lack of internet access and fanfiction reading since that's where I spend 95% of my time...hope that doesn't sound pathetic._

 _So now, I'm not sure how long it will be before Forsaken get's a chapter update, hopefully not too long but I'm feeling hopeful that with some upcoming interviews I will have a job before December -crosses fingers- pleeease!. Job = money, Money = laptop, Laptop = writing/internet & Writing/Internet = my sanity...and you! *points up at universe* can kindly f*ck off! Mess with someone else for awhile. _

_I really hope you can all just bear with me for a little longer, just till I can get a proper job and find a new laptop and I hope none of you are angry with me for being silent for so long and are still keeping watch and haven't given up on the story. Also, I never thanked you all properly for all your lovely reviews and those of you who offered your support after my friend and grandmother passed away, so thank you, thank you all so much it means a lot to me._

 _Side Note 1 - If any of you can recommend a good laptop brand/type please let me know which is good. I've had an Acer for the last several years and it's always been a piece of junk that has had some kind of grudge against me._

 _Side Note 2 - Shout out to maycontestdrew for checking up on me and being such a lovely supporter. You're an absolute sweetheart, thank you so much._

 _Well, that's all from me for now but I hope you're all still checking up on this story and will continue to support it like you all have from the beginning. I will try my hardest to get that update to you all as fast as I can and you will hopefully hear from me again soon. Bye for now!_


	6. Author's Note 2 - I'm Back

_Hey everyone, Kiba here once again to let you all know that Forsaken will be up and running with proper updates come the end of January. I'm so so sorry for taking so long with chapter 3 but finally, I have gotten myself straightened out. I've managed to get a decent paying job (this time at a fancy little cafe where they sell pastries and cakes), I got my money issues sorted out and my father and brother got me a new laptop for Christmas (and holy crap the keyboard lights up!). Today I just got home and finished setting up the programs to my liking and importing all my most precious documents so I'll be able to finally get that god damned chapter out for you guys so you don't have to hunt me down and kill me._

 _So with that said please keep an eye out these next few weeks since I will probably be deleting this author's note chapter, along with that last one from November and replacing it with the long awaited chapter 3 of Forsaken. I can't wait for you guys to see what happens next with our poor WICKED rejects and I hope you all had an awesome Christmas and New Years! Bye for now!_

 _(On a little side note I've set up a poll on my profile containing all the names of the cast of Forsaken. I would like to ask that everyone involved in this story please go and vote on your character just so I can see who's still here looking out for this story. I know that seems a bit strange but the last time I didn't update for a long period of time some of my submitters up and vanished (cough - The Failed Experiment - cough) So I just want to make sure your all still here.)_


	7. Chapter 3: A Taste of Hell

_AN - Quote from last AN -"_ _Forsaken will be up and running with proper updates come the end of January!" End of January eh Kiba? It's half way through freakin February you dumb shank! You know what, even though chapter 3 is finally out you guys still have full permission to hunt me down and sacrifice me to Satan or whatever. Once again I apologize for this damned chapter taking so long but hey it's finally here, better late than never eh? I know I said I'd be trying to get three different Pov's in every chapter but it didn't work out that way this time around so you guys just get one but at least it shows the beginning of what's to come for the other kids. Don't be disappointed if your character wasn't shown this time, I'm more excited for the next chapter where all the characters will make an appearance and you will all get to see what Feasting Hour is about. Also, I'd like to thank everyone who gave me words of support and understanding while I was having my little work dilemma. Your all so kind and it's great knowing you guys are so understanding and I'm just gonna start working a little harder so I don't let you guys down again._

 _On a side note, I also want to let you guys know that I am going to start asking QOTC's. Which stands for 'Question of the Chapter". At the end of every chapter, I will have a question left in the bottom Author's Note, asking you guys about anything related to this story or about the Maze Runner Series in general. The questions could very from what your opinions are on the current situation, which characters your liking so far, what characters do you think would make a cute couple or who do you bet will die first. You know, fun stuff like that. I'd love hearing your guys responses and thoughts so I hope you join in on the QOTC'S as I think this will also help with anything you guys aren't sure about as I am also going to start answering/replying to any and all reviews._

 _Anyway, enough of my horribly long Author's Note, you guys want the damn chapter, so enjoy! Don't forget to review as it gives me motivation and I'll see you guys next time! I'm off to bed! Night!_

* * *

 _Dear Slade Family_

 _I am pleased to inform you that we, here at the research lab of the reinforcement of somatology have successfully acquired the necessary subjects and materials to go forth with the plans for Project Delta. All the assigned documents and confidential statistics of the plan have been passed onto the correct personnel here within our ranks and the proper experiments and tests will immediately be heeded and carried out upon your orders. Be reassured that we are well aware of our time limit you have granted us and it will not by any means be taken lightly. Updates of our progress over the next few years will, of course, be passed onto you as we advance to higher and more complex experiments with our subjects and you will immediately be informed of any casualties or setbacks, should any arise as per your orders._

 _Once again I thank you endlessly for allowing myself and my colleagues to take part in this grand project, that will undoubtedly change the course of history, secure this world's future and revolutionize mankind as we know it in the years to come._

 _Yours faithfully, Chief Scientist Erwin Garver._

Through the thick shadows that shrouded the small, circular room a smug smile was slowly forming on an aging face. Pale, misty blue eyes glinted with a kind of malicious intent that could strike fear into the toughest of people and a dark, empty chuckle held nothing but the promise of pain for a handful of poor souls who were soon to know what hell on earth was like.

"Zis time, vee vill not fail you."

* * *

 **-Two Months Since Initial Arrival-**

* * *

"Marley! Marley wake up!"

With an irritated groan, Marley weakly swatted away the hand of the nagging boy that had been relentlessly shaking her for the last five minutes. Grabbing her blanket tighter she turned away onto her left side, pushing her face into the stiff pillow beneath her head in a weak attempt at blocking out his high pitched voice.

"Nngh, go away Joey, I don't want to see Mr. Hoff today. I just wanna sleep." She whined.

"I know, but he said it wasn't a request! You know what he'll have the Dark Men do if you don't go! Please! You saw what they did to Mercer, Red and Natia! I don't want you to get hurt too!"

With a panged moan Marley finally sat up and turned to look at her friend. Even in the dark lighting Joseph's long, dark blonde hair stood out against the gloomy room and the bags underneath his ash-gray eyes showed just how exhausted he was. He must have just gotten back from his meeting with Mr. Hoff and from the looks of it, it had been a difficult one that had lasted through most of the night. Mr. Hoff had the habit of taking them one by one into his office for hours on end, he would even call upon them in the middle of the night whenever he deemed it necessary. It truly was tiresome, especially since it was difficult to fall asleep in the first place with such uncomfortable beds. The pillows were lumpy, the sheets were thin and torn in several places, the mattresses were rock hard and the frames of the beds were crooked and uneven, making it so that the beds sloped awkwardly. All this resulted in a lot of tossing and turning and always left the kids with sore backs and stiff necks.

Pushing off the paper thin sheets Marley swung her legs over the side of the bed before getting to her feet. Her head felt fuzzy with sleep as she started towards the door at the far end of the darkened room. In the corner of her eye Marley could see Joseph breathe a sigh of relief before crawling back into his bed that lay opposite of her own and looking on either side of herself as she approached the door she spotted her other two roommates laying asleep in their beds. Mercer's ebony black hair was peeking out from underneath his blanket that was obscuring his face and Spencer lay face down in a haphazard heap with his arms tucked under his pillow and his legs curled underneath himself in an odd kind of way that could never be seen as comfortable. Marley made sure to keep her footfalls light so she wouldn't wake them up. The last thing she wanted was to face a grumpy, sleep-deprived Mercer who had already made it crystal clear in the short time Marley had known him that he wasn't a morning person….or an afternoon person…..or even an evening person…...

Once she reached the door it slid open on its own accord, allowing her to step into a smaller room completely made of foggy blue glass. Once she was in the door slid shut behind her making her flinch at the loud bang it caused. A security camera set up above another circular door that led out of the foursomes living quarters and into the main building turned to look at her. A small red laser light perched above the camera lens aimed itself at her forehead and soon it multiplied into millions of tiny dots, moving up and down her body in the usual scan to confirm who she was and if she was allowed to leave. After a few seconds of silence after the lights died a loud click signaled the round door had unlocked and it swung silently open to allow Marley to go on her way.

Stepping out into a stark white corridor Marley glanced down at her feet were several, rugged, colorful lines led down both ways of the hall. She had always been instructed to follow the orange line, for it led to Mr. Hoff's room, and she had been warned on several occasions to never get diverted from her path and go where she wasn't supposed to. She had to suppress a shiver when she remembered what had happened to Mercer when he hadn't listened to said rule. However, that didn't stop Marley from being tempted to see where the other lines would take her if she gained enough courage to follow them down the twisting, winding halls.

Deciding today wasn't the day for such rule breaking Marley turned and began trailing along the tangerine line, gazing around her bland surroundings as she went. Her prediction earlier of it being still nighttime was proven right as a wall clock came into view reading that it was just after 3 am and the lack of noise from within the building concluded that most of it's occupants were still asleep.

Coming up on her right was a large glass window that looked into a sterile white room filled with strange electronics and equipment that Marley had never seen being used. She took a moment to stop and look at her reflection in the glass, seeing the face she expected even though she looked more tired than she usually did. Her medium brown hair that just reached her shoulders was messed up from her bed and was fluffed up awkwardly on one side while her warm eyes the color of gingerbread were hooded with sleep. Quickly giving her bedhead a little brush with her fingers in a weak attempt at making it look neater Marley continued on her way to Mr. Hoff's room.

It only took a few more minutes of walking with nothing interesting happening before Marley came upon her destination as the orange line suddenly turned and ended in front of a dark oak-wood door that had the nameplate "Hoffman" fixated onto it just under a small, misty window. Standing on the tips of her toes Marley reached up and turned the nob, pushing it open easily before peeking inside.

Mr. Hoff's room was quite large compared to where Marley and the three boys were staying. Along all sides of the square room where numerous machines, all lit up and blinking while making low humming sounds that reminded Marley of angry bees. A wide metal desk that took up space along the northern and eastern wall held more, smaller machines and computers that were always left on and looking closely up at a rather small monitor Marley could see the security footage of the circular door that led to the room she had just left.

Mr. Hoff was currently sitting at his desk, typing away on his laptop with quick fingers and a hard gaze that never left the screen. The pale white lights shining above gave him a very creepy look as his wavy, penny brown hair cast strange shadows over his face and the blueish light from his laptop made his glasses shine strangely so that his eyes were not visible.

Upon shutting the door and finally making her presence known Hoffman looked up from what he was typing to cast the small girl a displeased look before turning around fully in his office chair to face her.

"I hope you realize it was been well over twenty minutes since I sent Willows to inform you to come to me, Mrs. Robinson. So tell me, was his tardiness the reasoning for you being late or would you care to admit you were taking your own _sweet_ time getting here as if I have the time to spare waiting for you?" The tone of Hoffman's voice carried a dangerous note and Marley found her mouth going dry as she stood there trying to come up with words to respond to him.

Mr. Hoff was a man not to toyed with and if there was one thing that easily made him mad it was wasting his time or showing the unforgivable sin that was laziness. He always demanded that everything is on time and he would not hesitate to punish someone who didn't show him that respect. Marley had always found that hard to understand since he _was_ the 'guardian' of Joseph, Mercer, Spencer and herself. He was entrusted with protecting them but he would turn around and hurt them if they made him angry enough. That didn't sound like any guardian Marley had ever heard of.

"Well!?" The sudden, sharp call from Hoffman startled Marley from her thoughts so bad she jumped nearly a foot into the air and she sputtered for a reply while trying to rapidly think up an excuse.

"Scaring the shit out of your kids again eh Hoffy?"

Marley felt herself sag with relief as Mrs. Blackrain's voice cut through the tension in the air like a warm knife. Turning around, Blackrain was leaning against the frame of the now open doorway, her classic crooked grin in place as she gazed at Hoffman through sleepy, stormy blue-gray, half-lidded eyes that sparkled with mischief.

Hoffman's expression changed from displeasure to extreme irritation at his co-worker's sudden appearance along with the use of the nickname she was so fond of using on him to which he loathed to no extent.

"Blackrain, what are you still doing up? Didn't you retire for the night hours ago? You should be getting some sleep if you are to be attending the meeting with a clear head that is being held at six, which if I may add is only three hours away." Hoffman spoke through clenched teeth, obviously trying to contain his anger and hint that the blood-haired women shouldn't be there.

The grin on Blackrain's face grew larger as she pushed herself up straight and walked over to Hoffman's side, flopping down into the empty chair next to him before putting her feet up on his desk and folding her arms behind her head in a relaxed position.

"Nah, I wanted to spend these last few hours before that boring meeting with my _best friend_ since I know how lonely you get when I'm not around but it's cute of you to care about me Hoffy." She said with a voice full of laughter as she reached out and poked Hoffman's face playfully and with feigned adoration.

Hoffman's face grew redder with rage as his face was assaulted with no consent. He smacked Blackrain's hand away harshly before moving his chair so that there were a good five feet between himself and his crazy subordinate.

"Blackrain! I have important work that I must be getting on with, and your presence is in no way needed or in fact welcomed. I only have a few short hours to get this test done and I don't need you distracting me!"

Blackrain tilted her head to the side, causing her short, ruffled, blood red hair to swish gently before casting Hoffman a smug grin.

"For someone who thinks so highly of punctuality and is so hard-nosed, you sure do waste enough time nagging don't ya Hoffman? By all means, continue with your little 'test', just pretend I'm not even here." Blackrain said while once again folding her arms behind her head and leaning back so that her office chair tilted dangerously backward.

Hoffman's expression contorted back and forth from anger to distress before he finally let out an agitated growl and turned his attention back to Marley.

"Mrs. Robinson, to your seat. Now."

Without wasting a heartbeat Marley scrambled over to the chipped, vacant stool that sat near Blackrain. It was quite tall so Marley had to reach up and place her hands on either side of the seat and do a big jump than pull herself up the rest of the way before finally resting her bottom on it. Looking up and seeing Blackrain gazing at her she gave a tiny, shy smile to which the crimson haired women winked at her in return with a barely hidden grin.

Marley then watched as Mr. Hoff rifled through a drawer under his desk before pulling out a strange square-shaped, flat electronic device that was light blue in color and had small rivulets of darker blue that glowed in the pale lighting. He then rolled his chair over to the opposite side of Marley so that she was now sitting in between the two adults. A microwave-sized machine was sitting on the table in front of her and Marley watched curiously as Mr. Hoff pulled it closer so that it rested just on the edge of the desk before he inserted the flat blue device into the top of it. With a loud hum, the small machine came to life, casting a beam of blue-white light onto Marley's lap from a thin rectangular gap in the front of it that was big enough to only fit small objects.

Mr. Hoff pressed a few buttons and switches along the side of the machine, causing the light from within it to change from pale blue to misty purple. A small, whirling noise began emitting from its depths and Marley thought she could see something silver moving around from within it through the gap.

"Now Mrs. Robinson were going to be doing something a little different today from our regular tests. You are going to insert your left hand into the small space you see before you, then you're going to place your right hand on this dark blue pad on the desk. You will NOT move no matter what happens, even if it hurts. Break this rule and it will result in more than just a mere dose of pain and you will not attend the Feasting Hour with the rest of the children today. Do I make myself clear?"

Marley shrank back into her seat from Hoffman's burning gaze and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up at the thought that this test might hurt her. She didn't want to put her hands anywhere near this machine but disobeying meant missing out on Feasting Hour, and none of the kids here ever wanted to miss out on that.

Pushing her rising fear away Marley nodded quickly, moving forward nervously so that she was closer to the humming machine. Hoffman gave a small sneer before moving back to his original spot, typing something into his computer before activating a holographic screen that projected itself into the air before him, displaying an image that resembled the small machine that sat in front of Marley. He then turned his scorching, dark golden gaze on the small girl, giving his head a swift jerk to give her the go ahead.

Taking a deep, shaking breath Marley risk one last glance at Blackrain who was now watching with an unreadable expression before slowly sliding her left hand inside the machines small gap, then gently placing her right hand on the blue pad like Mr. Hoff instructed. The inside of the machine was cold like ice and Marley could detect what almost felt like a small breeze flowing against her skin. She laid her hand on a small, metal platform she could feel inside and had to resist to urge to pull her hand back as she made contact with the cool metal. Hoffman was using his fingertips to press and move things across the holographic screen and Marley nearly jumped out of her skin when the dark blue pad that her right hand was resting on suddenly started to glow brightly and a strange kind of heat enveloped her skin.

The humming within the machine began to get louder, and as Hoffman slowly slid his finger across the screen Marley's left hand began to feel oddly tight as if the skin was constricting around her muscles. Then suddenly out of nowhere a horrible stinging sensation began building up in her fingertips, and what felt like tiny needles begun to pierce her vulnerable flesh there. It was unbelievable how quickly the stinging escalated to the point it felt like Marley's veins were on fire. She was so suddenly consumed with pain that her body became paralyzed with agony and her mouth gaped open in a silent scream as her body began to quake. Whatever the machine was doing it felt like something was burrowing into her skin from the tips of her fingers, down into the bones within her arm. Her other hand that was now shaking uncontrollably on the glowing blue pad was unable to move from its spot as if some magnetic force was keeping it there, and the heat that was once normal was now unbearable.

No matter how hard she tried Marley couldn't bring her body to move, it was as if her joints had frozen solid and her muscles had turned to concrete. A horrible throbbing began building up in her arm as if it was about to burst and all Marley could do was allow her head to dip forward so that her forehead rested against the trembling machine as tears streaked down her face and landed on the floor below her. A thin, pain filled wail that sounded like the cry of a baby was the only noise that was able to leave Marley's lips and she begged god to make the suffering stop...

* * *

Marley wasn't sure how much time passed as the machine continued to tear its way into her skin, and at one point she thought she heard Blackrain say something to Hoffman but the ringing in her ears made it so that she was unable to make out was she said.

After what she was sure had been hours Marley thought this pain would never end, and she was destined to go through this hell for the rest of her life while the others just watched her suffer in silence. Her mind then drifted off to thoughts of her older brother, Max. She was sure he was still alive out there somewhere, searching for her. She wanted to cry and scream for him to come and save her from this horrible place, wanted to run into his arms where she knew she would be safe, just wanted him to hug her one last time...

"What the hell is going on in here!?"

A sudden shout of rage echoed around the large room, and the scuffle of feet could be heard before what sounded like a violent bang from across the desk where Hoffman sat.

"Jacklyn! What in the hell do you think your doing!?"

All at once the whirling, the shaking, and the digging pain stopped. Whatever hold had taken over Marley's body faded away and she slumped forward as her right hand slid off the pad and her numb muscles and joints came back to life. She nearly fell off the stool entirely had a pair of arms not catch her and slowly lower her down to the ground while her left arm slipped out of the machine, blood gushing as small silver wire like tendrils slid out of her flesh from the tips of her fingers.

The pair of arms around her lifted her back up before resting her against something soft and warm that carried a familiar scent. Weakly, Marley clutched a fist full of what felt like fabric with her undamaged hand before forcing her bloodshot eyes to look up at the person holding her.

Dark blonde hair, tipped with black that grew to just the base of her neck in soft yet sharp uneven layers, intense green-silver eyes that were filled with anger and outlined in black liner, a beautifully defined face with perfectly shaped eyebrows, nose, mouth and lips, and a dark red jewel nose piercing to top it all off. Marley had never felt so relieved in her entire life as she did now seeing that Jackie had come to save her from her suffering.

"What the hell have you done to her!?" Jackie demanded towards Hoffman as she held the trembling child close to her chest with one hand while cradling Marley's bleeding fingers in the other.

Hoffman completely ignored her question as he furiously strode towards the pair.

"How dare you barge in here without permission and shut down my machine in the middle of a test! I laid down pacific rules about NOT interrupting me while I'm in my office! Now, hand over that girl this instant and go back to your room!"

Jackie barred her teeth and took a flew steps away from the raging scientist, bringing Marley with her and using her own body to shield her from Hoffman.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!? It's five in the morning and you're torturing a six-year-old when she should be sleeping like all the other children! I could hear her wailing from my room! You fucking sick prick! You're not touching her again!" Jackie shouted with venom dripping from her voice.

"How dare you speak to me like that! I take you in after your good for nothing father ran off to join the Rebellion and your mother dies from the Flare and you repay my kindness by sabotaging my work when you know how critical it is!? We spoke about this weeks ago! My work requires risks and sacrifice! A petty two hours doing a bone and marrow structure scan and sampling is a mere fraction of the tests that must be done and if there's a little pain involved in the process then so be it! Everything we do here is necessary and has a purpose! You just keep your nose out of it and remember your place!"

"Go fuck yourself! I don't give a shit about your psychotic little experiments or what demented purpose you delusional nut-jobs have tricked yourselves into believing! No good is ever going to come out of what you're doing here and you fucking know it! My father was right about one thing, you really are just some freak!"

Hoffman's face turned the darkest shade of red Marley had ever seen it, and as she watched the brunette swiftly raise his fist she knew Jackie was in for it this time for stepping out of line. She closed her eyes tightly and looked away, not wanting to see what would happen next.

"Okay, that's enough."

Marley opened her eyes again slowly to see Blackrain had stepped in between Hoffman and Jackie and had a tight grip on her co-workers raised arm, stopping it from its descent onto the blonde's face.

"This fight is meaningless and a waste of time. The meeting is going to begin in less than half an hour and we have files to round up before it begins. Despite your niece here interrupting your experiment, I believe you can deal with her later and for now, it would be wise to let her escort Mrs. Robinson back to her room and take care of her hand. You don't have the time to do that yourself and you wouldn't want to be late for Erwin now would you?" Blackrain questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Hoffman jerked his head back and forth between the two women, looking torn between pushing Blackrain aside and going forward with punishing Jackie or backing off and doing as his subordinate suggested.

In the end, he chose the latter and pulled his arm from Blackrain's grip before straightening his coat while still glaring at his niece. Releasing a strained breath Hoffman sharply turned around and strode back to his desk, leaning forward to rest his hands on the steel surface with his head bent down.

"Take her back to bed then, and get out of my sight Jacklyn."

With hate filled eyes fixated on the back of her uncle's head, Jackie reached forward, toward Marley before scooping up the small girl and holding her against her chest so that Marley could wrap her arms around the older girls neck and her weak legs around her thin waist. She also wasted no time in burying her face in the teen's neck, letting herself cry as she was carried to the door while her arm throbbed horribly.

Jackie stopped at the exit of the room and turned around to face Blackrain who was watching them leave with a blank expression on her face.

"You're just as bad as he is you know. You sat by and did nothing." Jackie's eyes were hard as stone as she looked Blackrain in the face before turning out the room and vanishing from sight, leaving the crimson haired women to watch after the pair in unreadable silence.

* * *

Along the agonizingly slow journey back to the living quarters Marley continued to sob into Jackie's shoulder leaving her sleep shirt damp with tears. Her wounded arm was burning and trembling uncontrollably, making it impossible to keep a firm grip around Jackie's neck, resulting in the blonde having to hold all the little girl's weight which was similar to that of holding a stuffed, child-sized teddy bear with how little she weighed. Jackie's hand was rubbing small, soothing circles on Marley's back, all the while murmuring comforting words into her ear to calm her down.

It was unbelievable to think that someone as kind as Jackie was related to someone so cruel like Hoffman. They may be niece and uncle and have a few small psychical resemblances but you couldn't find two people who were more different from each other. Most of Hoffman's kids didn't believe it when they learned the two were family, it just seemed too unreal. Jackie may be only eighteen years old but she had already proven to be much wiser beyond her years and became something almost like a mother figure to a lot of the kids there.

As Marley continued to softly cry she eventually dozed off into a light, restless sleep, still half clinging to Jackie's front. She didn't even realize it till the teen was laying her down on her stiff bed that the two had finally made it back to the darkened living quarters. When she felt the warmth from Jackie's body suddenly fade Marley nearly panicked until she noticed a dip in the bed as the blonde sat on the edge of her mattress with a small first-aid kit resting on her lap.

"Whats wrong?" A sleepy voice called, and looking over the two girls spotted Spencer gazing over at them with half-lidded eyes, and his hair and clothes disheveled.

"Nothing Spencer, go back to sleep," Jackie whispered back before watching as the small boy did just that by literally falling back into his pillow without pushing for an answer before beginning to snore again.

Jackie brought out a roll of bandages, along with a tube of disinfectant cream and a little needle containing a faded blue liquid from the kit. Gently picking up Marley's mangled hand the blonde proceed to spread the cool, clear cream across the ripped flesh, making the small girl flinch as the gel-like substance sunk into her wounds. Then swiftly and skillfully Jackie wrapped up Marley's arm from the base of her elbow to the tips of her fingers in the white bandages so that every inch of skin was covered protectively.

As Jackie picked up the filled syringe and brought it near to Marley's arm the young girl quickly flinched back, holding her injured limb away and looking at the blonde fearfully.

"It's okay sweetie, this will make the pain go away and let you sleep peacefully to dream good dreams." Jackie's soft, rich voice was like silk against Marley's ears, and with little to no hesitance she stretched her arm out forward so the young adult could gently slip the needle into her concealed vein.

Once the syringe was empty, and Jackie had put away the medical supplies and stuffed the first-aid kit underneath the bed Marley could feel the medication starting to kick in. The pain in her arm began to fade, along with the throbbing and her mind was rapidly becoming more and more foggy with sleep, causing her eyes to droop.

Noticing Jackie was preparing to leave Marley reached out and caught a hold of her shirts sleeve, tugging her back to sit down as she began to sit up.

"Don't leave." Marley whimpered, not wanting to be alone after having gone through such a terrible ordeal.

With a gentle sigh, Jackie nodded before moving back onto the bed and pulling Marley into her lap once again. She laid down on her side with Marley curled into the curve of her body before wrapping an arm around the little brunette girl's midsection, pulling her close. She then pulled the thin, pathetic excuse for a blanket over the pair of them before finally settling.

With all her pain now gone and a cozy warmth at her back Marley's exhaustion came back ten fold and before she knew it she was drifting off into dreamland. Jackie's gentle breathing was like a lullaby as Marley left the world of reality behind and all the bad memories from the last few hours disappeared into dust as if they never existed.

Perhaps tonight, Marley would finally be graced with sweet dreams.

* * *

 _An - I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I know it's not as long as the previous one but chapter four should be longer! Now, onto our first QOTC!_

 _QOTC: Out of all the original Maze Runner characters who was your favorite and who was your least favorite and why? My favorite has always been Newt since he's just such a sweet guy, he's been through hell and has grown from it rather than let it drag him down and he's always been there for those he cares about. My least favorite, without a doubt, is Brenda. Ever since she came into the story I've had such a strong dislike for her and even at the end of the books I still hated her. Maybe because I liked Teresa so much and it seemed like Brenda took Thomas's affection away from her. What about you guys?_


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